Insurance adjusters devote a great deal of time in investigating insurance claims for damage to buildings, particularly residential dwellings. While there is a wide range of potential claims, exterior damage claims relating to damaged roofs and damaged vinyl siding make up a substantial part of these claims. In cases where there is roof damage, the insurance agent is required to determine the quality of the roofing shingle damaged. That is the insurance agent determines if the damaged roofing shingle is, for example, a 20 year roofing shingle, a 30 year roofing shingle, or a 40 year roofing shingle. This is important because this determination will be a factor in determining the value of the claim. In some cases, the damaged roof may include metal roofing panels. Here again, it is important to determine the quality of the damaged metal roofing panel and as with a conventional roofing shingle, the thickness of the metal roofing panel is a factor in determining quality and in turn the value of the claim. The same applies for vinyl siding. When there is a damage claim based on damage to vinyl siding, the insurance adjuster typically determines the thickness of the damaged vinyl siding because here again the thickness of the damaged vinyl siding is a factor in determining a fair amount for the claim.
Therefore, there has been and continues to be a need for a precision gauge instrument that will enable an insurance agent to quickly, easily and precisely determine the thicknesses of various exterior building products such as roofing shingles, metal roofing panels, and vinyl siding.